Welcome to the Terrordome: Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions ramp up their crusade against black and br

[sheshe2]

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump promised to “take care of our African-American people.” Trump also asked black Americans, “What the hell they [had] to lose” by voting for him.

Given his naked embrace of racism and bigotry, there was an undercurrent of menace and malice in Trump’s first statement all along. And the answer to the second question was always, “a hell of a lot.” Trump’s presidency is still in its infancy. But in that short amount of time he has repeatedly demonstrated his hostility toward African-Americans, Latinos, First Nations people and Muslims. Their sense of safety, security, happiness, health and freedom are of no concern to him.

https://www.thenation.com/article/report-occupied-territory/

Writing for The Nation in 1966, James Baldwin made the following observations about police and the color line in America:

Now, what I have said about Harlem is true of Chicago, Detroit, Washington, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Francisco — is true of every Northern city with a large Negro population. And the police are simply the hired enemies of this population. They are present to keep the Negro in his place and to protect white business interests, and they have no other function. They are, moreover — even in a country which makes the very grave error of equating ignorance with simplicity — quite stunningly ignorant; and, since they know that they are hated, they are always afraid. One cannot possibly arrive at a more surefire formula for cruelty.

This is why those pious calls to “respect the law,” always to be heard from prominent citizens each time the ghetto explodes, are so obscene. The law is meant to be my servant and not my master, still less my torturer and my murderer. To respect the law, in the context in which the American Negro finds himself, is simply to surrender his self-respect.

I have witnessed and endured the brutality of the police many more times than once — but, of course, I cannot prove it. I cannot prove it because the Police Department investigates itself, quite as though it were answerable only to itself. But it cannot be allowed to be answerable only to itself. It must be made to answer to the community which pays it, and which it is legally sworn to protect, and if American Negroes are not a part of the American community, then all of the American professions are a fraud.

This arrogant autonomy, which is guaranteed the police, not only in New York, by the most powerful forces in American life — otherwise, they would not dare to claim it, would indeed be unable to claim it — creates a situation which is as close to anarchy as it already, visibly, is close to martial law.

Social scientists and pollsters have determined that white racism propelled Donald Trump to the White House. This dynamic has been politely described as a “racist backlash” against Obama specifically and against African-Americans and nonwhites, more generally. A more direct way of describing the outcome of the 2016 presidential election is that millions of white voters wanted to put “uppity” and “arrogant” black people “back in their place” for committing the political equivalent of the Jim Crow-era crime known as “reckless eyeballing” by supporting Obama. It would seem that the psychological wages of whiteness are so intoxicating that they can even motivate many millions of white Republicans and independents to support a neofascist, racist, misogynist and incompetent boor if they believe such a decision will hurt people of color and Muslims.

For every action there is a reaction. In the courts, the streets and at the ballot box, black and brown folks and their allies will push back. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and President Donald Trump, as well as their voters and supporters in Trumplandia, will learn the limits of their power.

More: http://www.chaunceydevega.com/2017/04/welcome-to-terrordome-donald-trump-and.html

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There is so much in Devega's post, I did not know where to start. Black and brown you are the Democratic base, as are poc, women, lgbt . It is past time for us to support you. When we support you, it supports us all.

We must be allies. Together.

[JHan]

1. Civil rights issues aren't as important so "meh".

not only do we have to contend with shit from the right, but shit from the left too.

Yeah I'm in a mood.

sorry.

[irisblue]

2. Yeah, you are so right J.

My BP is rising today.
For my near daily comment....f that guy, and f the evil elf too.
.

[JHan]

5. and our BP ain't worth the workout because we have to keep fighting

[brer cat]

3. There seems to be a lot of that "mood" going around.

[JHan]

4. you know what's not surprising? the number of people I know who knew that "leftists"

would do this shit in the aftermath of the election.

we knew it. And it has come to pass.

[brer cat]

7. No, it's not surprising,

but it is disheartening. They cry was sounded loud and clear by members of this group before the election; they were not just ignored, they were silenced. There are none so deaf as those who will not hear.

[JHan]

8. from what I've been told things were real rough around here.

sigh.

[The Polack MSgt]

14. This is the inconvenient truth that gets overlooked or actively hidden

In all of the post election sturm und drang here on DU.

This group was actively hounded by factions from the leftist/socialist/anti-corporate whatever-label-you choose, mainly male always white "liberals" for the sin of not falling in line behind their preferred agenda.

Alert stalking, coordinating off-site to attack AA posters, non-stop vitriol and accusations sock puppetry were their daily bread.

It was and still is the assumption that white priorities are the true heart of the liberal agenda, and all those brown folks and women are mucking everything up.

It hasn't changed - and with most of these people it never will.

[sheshe2]

16. +1000

Thank you. MSgt.

[JHan]

17. wow

I wish I could say I'm surprised.

[Starry Messenger]

18. And several of the AA members are still suspended

It makes me ill.

[JustAnotherGen]

19. You tell no lies

You summed it up very very well!

[sheshe2]

6. I am in a mood as well and it is not good.

Go for it JHan.

Anger is a great gift...I see clearly.

[JHan]

9. :)

[mopinko]

10. i remain in awe of the absolute rejection of cheeto and

his entire agenda by poc.
and by aunt maxine, john lewis, etc to see through the bullshit. and to lead the resistance.

old white men should get out of the way, and let the real, fearless leaders lead.

[J_William_Ryan]

11. Reactionaryism

…the unwarranted fear of change, diversity, dissent, and expressions of individual liberty.

Conservatives are the purveyors of reactionaryism as they seek to compel conformity and return to an idealized American past that never actually existed – a past that was in no way ‘ideal’ for persons of color, women, and gay Americans.

[iluvtennis]

12. Yep, that's what MAGA is all about. GAAAAAH

[Gothmog]

13. K&R

[The Polack MSgt]

15. Been slow to catch up on my subscriptions - Great post -have a belated K&R nt